Attending the European Route 66 Festival in the Czech Republic
by Rhys Martin
Back in April, the Oklahoma Route 66 Association board approved travel expenditures to send a representative to the European Route 66 Festival in the Czech Republic. On Labor Day weekend, I was honored to be that representative to promote the Mother Road in Prague!
The Blue Angel
The European Route 66 Festival was part of a larger event called All American Fest, a celebration of American culture in the heart of Europe. The biggest part of the festival (which also included a BBQ cook-off, a car show, multiple concerts, and dirtbike stunts) was Harley Days, a mass gathering of motorcycles and enthusiasts. In addition to our Association, a few other locals made the trip: Oklahoma Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell with his team and representatives of Oklahoma Main Street and the Department of Commerce!
The Route 66 building included the Oklahoma crew, representatives from Illinois (Debyjo Ericksen of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 in Joliet and Terri Ryburn of Sprague’s Super Service station in Normal), a few locals like Marián Pavel of Route 66 Navigation, the legendary ‘Blue Angel’ 1957 Chevrolet formerly owned by Marty Bilecki, a host of custom-painted Harley Davidson motorcycles, and a large area for screenings and lectures.
The night before the festival officially started, the Lt. Governor’s office held a reception at the Hard Rock Café near Prague’s Old Town Square. The event brought roadies together from multiple countries as well as dignitaries from the US Embassy and festival organizers. Zdeněk Jurásek, leader of the Czech Route 66 Association and main organizer of the European Route 66 Festival, seemed very pleased to have everyone together to celebrate the road. Over the festival weekend, the Lt. Governor was also interviewed several times for national public broadcast. I’m proud to say he was sporting one of our new Oklahoma Route 66 Association t-shirts for some of it!
On Saturday, August 31st, a parade of nearly 1,000 motorcycles cruised through the streets of Prague. Lt. Governor Pinnell was a guest of honor and Route 66 Radio (also helmed by Zdeněk) broadcast live throughout the cruise. The Route 66 Navigation truck brought up the rear, sporting a brand-new Capital of Route 66 bumper sticker from Tulsa, which the City sent over with swag bags to hand out. Once the caravan returned to the fairgrounds area, the President of the Czech Republic officially opened the festival! Evidently he’s a big motorcycle enthusiast. Later, the President made the rounds and shook the hands of all Oklahoma visitors. What an honor!
For two days, people from multiple countries came by and visited with us. Some people had traveled the route before, like Malcolm from the UK (who showed us some pictures from a 2002 sit-down with Kathy Anderson and Laurel Kane!), but most people still considered Route 66 a dream trip and were excited to learn more. Our Trip Guides were very well received as most people didn’t know much about Oklahoma or even where it was on the map. They were all very surprised and impressed when they learned we’d come over just for the festival!
I spoke twice during the festival about Route 66 history and Oklahoma’s momentum leading to the Centennial in 2026. There was a special screening of DRIVEN, a travel series for YurView that drove much of Route 66 last year. But the event that brought the most people to our Route 66 area was a documentary premiere for DOGA, a popular Czech rock band that has a song titled Route 66 (you can view the music video for that song here.) Last year, the band came to America with about 40 of their most dedicated fans and filmed a road trip concert series. They stopped several times in Oklahoma, including in Erick, the State Capitol, and the Starlite Bar in Tulsa for a concert. To premiere the documentary, they thanked the Lt. Governor for coming to Prague, toasted to their love of Route 66, and gifted him with a sweet custom denim vest. The film itself was a lot of fun, with many icons from across the route including a few familiar faces!
Overall, the event was a great success. I am so thankful that the Association voted to send me across the sea to represent our state and encourage travelers to make time for Oklahoma. I’m also thankful for the support of our members and a donation from Edmond’s Cycle 66, without which the Association would not have had this opportunity. Of course, also thanks to Zdeněk and the Czech Route 66 Association for the invitation!
With the Centennial getting closer, excitement is bubbling up everywhere. We’ll keep moving forward and do everything we can to make sure that people are able to make the most of their time in our great state!
